Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results (#12)

Just a wonderful with lots of different things to catch a multitude of readers’ eyes. – Joy Converse

For the longest time I wanted to be just like Peggy Rathmann. I still do… – Yuyi Morales

Are you surprised? I was. A little. In this kind of list you expect the top books to be made up of the old old classics. Your Blueberries for Sal or your Mike Mulligan. But this intrepid little 1994 upstart not only managed to get into the Top 100, it came THIS CLOSE to making it into the Top 10. I call that chutzpah. I also call that a deeply beloved book, only 15 years old but already a staple in a lot of peoples’ hearts.

Children’s Literature described the plot as, "In this nearly wordless book young children will have a good laugh as they watch the zookeeper making his rounds and wishing the animals all goodnight. The clever gorilla has swiped the zookeeper’s keys and as he visits each cage, he opens it and lets the animal out. As the keeper heads for home, the animals all follow along and join him and his wife for a good night’s sleep. Or so it seems until the zookeeper’s wife realizes that something has gone wrong when she hears a chorus of goodnights. She takes the animals back to the zoo, but our crafty gorilla is not one to be outdone."

Every year the American booksellers pronounce their Cuffie Awards in categories of every shape and form. Kudos to them then for giving Good Night, Gorilla the 1994 Cuffie for "Most Likely to Succeed in Years Ahead". Now THAT is foresight.

When I first conducted this poll I said that we weren’t going to consider easy books. I made no such stipulation in terms of board books, however. Good Night, Gorilla began its life as a picture book, but as the years have gone by it has seen quite a lot of popularity in its board book form. Several board books were indeed nominated for the Top 100 List, but sadly the queen of the board book genre (Ms. Sandra Boynton, split the vote over and over through the sheer amount of books she has produced). Good Night, Gorilla has adapted to the board book format beautifully, in that it is virtually wordless and its pictures are bright enough and colorful enough to stand out on those thick little pages.

In the biography portion of her website, we learn that Ms. Rathmann began life in Minnesota and eventually went to the University of Minnesota where she changed her major several times. "I wanted to teach sign language to gorillas, but after taking a class in signing, I realized what I’d rather do was draw pictures of gorillas." About this book in particular the site has this to say:

"A homework assignment produced an almost wordless story, Good Night, Gorilla, inspired by a childhood memory.

‘When I was little, the highlight of the summer was running barefoot through the grass, in the dark, screaming. We played Kick-the-Can, and Three-Times-Around-the-House, and sometimes we just stood staring into other people’s picture windows, wondering what it would be like to go home to someone else’s house.’

That story, however, was only nineteen pages long, and everyone agreed that the ending was a dud. Two years and ten endings later, Good Night, Gorilla was published and recognized as an ALA Notable Children’s Book for 1994."

Publishers Weekly said of it, "Universally understandable subject matter and a narrative conveyed almost entirely through pictures mark this as an ideal title for beginners . . . Some details prove questionable (for example, one overdrawn visage of Mrs. Zookeeper seems blurry, particularly because she’s rendered with a few simple lines elsewhere), yet these considerations take a back seat to Rathmann’s comic exuberance."
Horn Book‘s starred review said of it, "The many amusing, small details…as well as the tranquil tone of the story make this an outstanding picture book."
Kirkus also gave it a star saying, "The amiable cartoon characters, vibrant palette, and affectionate tone of the author’s art recall Thatcher Hurd’s cheerful illustrations. Delightful."
School Library Journal‘s starred review called it, "A clever, comforting bedtime story."

And BookList said, "Jaunty four-color artwork carries the story and offers more with every look."

Elizabeth Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Comments

We bought a hardback copy of this one when our oldest was a baby (WAY back in 1996), and every single one of our kids have LOVED it since then. Thankfully, it’s held up over the years, in spite of all the love, so we haven’t had to buy the board book version. Yet. Good to see it here.

I’d love to see some of the demographics of your voters. I’d venture a guess that this one is a favorite of any of us who had children after 1994.

Here’s how I described it on my blog:
“Our board book copy of this book is well-loved. It’s probably the title that has been read aloud most often in our house over the past 12 years. The kids never tired of hearing it, and we never tired of reading it. One of the kids loved finding the balloon in each picture. They would all delight in saying “UH_OH!” on the page that is all black except for the zookeeper’s wife’s eyes. I can almost smell the freshly-bathed toddler in my lap when I think about reading this book. Good times!”

I’m looking forward to the to 10. Surely we’ll see some “Mo” on this list soon!

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About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .